Don't Get Caught on Camera
Ban-Rays are smart glasses that detect hidden cameras secretly recording your every move.
Do you always feel like somebody’s watchin’ you, and you have no privacy? No, it isn’t just a dream. There are more cameras around us than ever before watching our every move. These days, it is not just building security cameras that we have to contend with. Now, cameras are even commonly being discreetly embedded in wearable devices like smart glasses. Chances are that you are being recorded far more frequently than you know.
That doesn’t sit well with security researcher Peter Whiting, so he decided to do something about it. Whiting is experimenting with what he calls Ban-Rays, which are smart glasses that are designed to detect other smart glasses with cameras. When a camera is detected, Ban-Rays play the “secret found” jingle from The Legend of Zelda to alert the wearer.
To tackle this problem, Whiting is investigating two primary avenues of detection: optical scanning and network analysis. The optical approach relies on basic physics. By blasting infrared light at a subject, Whiting hopes to trigger the "cat-eye effect" — a retro-reflection caused by the CMOS sensors hidden inside cameras. While the theory is sound, practical application of this option has proven to be tricky. Whiting found that differentiating the signal spike of a tiny camera lens from other glossy surfaces, like a smartphone screen, is challenging.
The networking option has proven to be more practical thus far. Whiting’s prototype scans the immediate area for Bluetooth Low-Energy (BLE) signals. He discovered that Meta Ray-Bans broadcast specific manufacturer IDs (0x01AB) and unique "Service UUIDs" when they are powering on, pairing, or just taken out of their charging case. This digital fingerprint currently offers the most reliable way to alert the wearer that a Meta device is nearby. However, this method has limitations; it struggles to detect the glasses once they are actively paired with a phone and hopping communication channels.
While the Ban-Rays are an interesting concept, they will need additional work before they can be relied upon. Stay tuned to see which direction Whiting takes them next.